(Lamoine) — Despite high praise for proposed changes to the Building and Land Use Ordinance at the public hearings, Lamoine voters once again defeated amendments to the existing ordinance in June. The proposed amendments differed from those presented in March, removing changes that raised objections at the open town meeting in regard to noise standards. It’s not known what the voters found objectionable in the latest set of proposed changes. The final tally was 177 in favor of the amendments and 192 opposed.
Among the amendments to the ordinance were a restructuring of the fees to lower the cost for items like decks and sheds, and increase fees on large residential projects. The changes would also have added a junkyard section, and clarified language on subdivision roads and size restrictions.

During the public hearings all the speakers favored passage of the latest set of amendments. The Planning Board said it carefully crafted the amendments to address the objections heard during the previous rejected amendment proposals. The Board will discuss the outcome of the vote and decide whether to offer other amendments to the ordinance in the future.